Career

5 Ways to Collaborate with Other Bloggers

Collaboration is king. When you collaborate with other bloggers you essentially double your exposure and growth potential.

Your stuff gets in front of the eyes of people they may never have reached before. It’s astonishing to see only a few bloggers taking advantage of this.

There are two reasons we probably don’t see more collaborations: a. Bloggers are scared/don’t know how to go about making the first move, or b. They feel it will take away their own audience.

Here’s the thing – there’s no reason to be nervous about approaching a blogger to collaborate with because the worst thing that could happen is they say no, and you’re back in the same place you started. NBD.

The idea that featuring another blogger will take the attention or following away from you is absolutely absurd. Look at Zanita – she has 4 people she shares the spotlight with! Think about the bloggers you personally follow, I bet you follow more than one right.

When you collaborate with another blogger, it could make you even more of an asset to your existing followers because you help them discover new bloggers they never would have known about otherwise. It’s a win-win and one of the biggest missed opportunities if you’re not taking advantage of it.

Once you’ve gotten past those fears, you can dive into the following ways:

Interview exchange

I personally love this collaboration idea and use it frequently on my own blog. It’s the easiest way for bloggers who are strapped for time. You simply shoot the other blogger an email with 5-6 questions and you’re done! This allows you to reach people anywhere in the world since you don’t have to be physically present.

Interviews are also almost always a ‘yes’ because bloggers are constantly looking for outlets to self-promote. Plus, you might learn a thing or two from his/her answers, and then you can share that value with your readers. Your readers will love you forever.

Video collab

Since video is huge right now, it only makes sense that video collaborations are the next innovative thing for bloggers. I know I’m shocked when I see two unlikely forces join for a killer tutorial or Q&A session.

You gain your audience’s interest by switching it up, and you also get them eager to see what you and your guest blogger are going to chat about.

From a promotional standpoint, a video collab is a cross-promotional effort in that you share your video with your followers and your guest blogger shares her video with her followers.

Snapchat takeover

I mean, how cool is it when you’re watching one of your favorite blogger’s Snaps and then another blogger takes over?! That’ll get your attention for sure. Brands do this all the time with bloggers since it’s a great way to spread awareness.

The only catch is you have to make sure you’re doing a takeover with someone who is in your niche, meaning if you’re a beauty blogger find another beauty blogger to do a takeover with – that way your followers still gain relevant insight and value.

Co-teach an online course

Collaborating with other bloggers in a way that is profitable for both of you is the best type of collab to have. You can do this through co-authoring a book, co-teaching an online course, creating a product, opening a business, etc.

Think about your blogging network already – is it substantial enough where you’re able to support yourself fully? If not, I’d definitely consider one of the options above.

When you’re picking someone to join this venture with you, pick someone whose style you admire, values align with yours, and someone who is a hustler. You don’t have to see eye to eye on everything, but you do have to partner with someone who knows how to put in that #werk.

I would also choose someone you believe thrives where you lack. Are your pictures not the best quality? If so, collab with a blogger who’s strength is photography. Whatever you choose, co-authoring or co-teaching is the best collab option for profiting, growing your following, and expanding your blogging business.

Photoshoot collab

I’ve seen a few bloggers do photoshoot collabs, but many of them are already friends which make it easier. While I believe it’s important to grow with a small group of bloggers, I also think it’s important to extend yourself outside of your network to other bloggers in your area that you’re not BFFs with.

When you collab with bloggers you don’t already know, you have the opportunity for unshared followers to discover you. (You’ll definitely need more than one picture for it to be effective.)

And you don’t have to be in the same city to do a photoshoot collab though that’s ideal. I did it on Instagram as a #followfriday where a bunch of us bloggers featured each other. And I have to tell you it was most effective when the same girl(s) posted about me more than once.

Key takeaway: The act of collaborating is far more important than how you’re collaborating because collabs are the key to your blog’s success!